Lost and forgotten photos from the past

Turning to a new source of photographs, I am delighted with this artistic image of a lovely young woman. She shows her unbound hair and is draped with a white robe. It’s rather suggestive for the times, don’t you think? It brings to mind a woman as she readies herself for sleep, brushing out her hair while in her dressing gown. To the proper Victorians, this might have been quite intimate. Her pose in profile, looking skyward is prescient of the glamorous movie shots of the 1930s. All we lack is back lighting and Max Factor.

Window & Grove Photographers, London

As you can see on the back of the mount, this was made by Window & Grove, photographers to the Royal Family at 63A Baker Street, Portman Square, London W. The address is reminiscent of another Baker Street house. Do you know which one?

My knowledge of photographers in Britain is limited on the best of days, and my knowledge of the geography of Britain is fairly limited as well. I can find London on a map and I’m aware that Scotland, Wales and Ireland are all parts of the greater British Isles. I could not tell you if this was a tony address as I could of a New York city direction, however, so if anyone is so inclined to enlighten us all, please do in the comments.

I am putting this up as a return to Sepia Saturday, the blog party that takes you to vintage photo websites from around the world! Sepia Saturday doesn’t require following a theme although a thematic prompt is provided every week. I discovered in the past that I focused so much on meeting the theme that I lost the fun in the old photos. And, after a refocus of this site on 19th century photos, a return to Sepia Saturday seems in order as well. So, press the button, my friend! Send me back in time…

18 thoughts on “Artistic photograph shows long hair”

Your wonderful photograph brought back memories of my grandmother. During the day her long hair was neatly rolled into a bun held in place with a hair net and pins. The only time I ever saw it down was when she was in bed. She had such pretty hair, but she never left the house or answered the door until it was all firmly back in its bun.
I believe a certain fictional detective lived in Baker Street, so I guess you must be referring to him.

Lovely photograph. Window and Grove were quite famous in their time and were very much “society photographers” and there are several of their portraits in the National Portrait Gallery collection. 63a Baker Street is quite a pleasant part of London – these days quite close to the Sherlock Holmes Hotel.

Do you know the date the photo was taken? I wonder if this was a portrait of a private person or perhaps a photograph for someone in a play. I’m so pleased to see someone else who’s not thrilled with prompts. I finally quit posting because of the prompts, until this week, when I had something that “fit.” Perhaps I’ll join you more often in going against the grain.

I don’t know when it was taken, unfortunately. I’m making an educated guess at the 1890s, based on the type of card it is on, size of the image taking the whole face of the card, and the style in general. Also, Alan has always said we don’t have to meet the theme, but it does draw you in to try to find something. I would welcome you in our “rebellion” haha.